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Team Apart Hosts Group Meetings Online for Free

By Paul Boutin September 2, 2009 6:15 pmSeptember 2, 2009 6:15 pm

A screen shot of the online meeting site, Team Apart.

If you work in an office, you’ve probably used some sort of meeting or presentation software. WebEx, Adobe Connect, Microsoft Office Live Workspace and Google Docs each offer different approaches for getting together. The start-ups DimDim and Scribblar are out to steal these big brands’ business with free versions.

But my favorite e-meeting tool is a new site called Team Apart. Its creators have brought all the right features in to allow small group meetings: video and audio feeds from talking-heads participants; the ability to upload images, video or Web pages into a meeting room; text-only group typing areas; and freehand drawing boards, of which you can create as many as you want. Meeting rooms can be saved permanently, so you can pop back in and pick up where you left off last time.

To top it off, Team Apart allows groups of up to four to meet for free. The company is still working on features and pricing for a Pro version that will allow five or more participants to meet for a fee, plus some other still-unidentified goodies it hopes are worth paying for.

I like Team Apart because its look and feel combine both the functionality and the informality of Internet culture. But Team Apart also wins on my list of must-have features for a small-group meeting space, like video windows and the ability to save a meeting room. It’s specifically meant for recurring meetings of small teams that are separated by geography. It’s no surprise to learn that the company’s three employees are split between Seattle and Santa Cruz. I interviewed them all in a meeting room, where we took notes for what further information I wanted.

The only nagging worry I have is: Will these crazy kids be able to stay in business, so customers can safely commit to holding their recurring meetings there without worrying they’ll have to start over somewhere else? Adobe has a lot more employees it could lay off before shutting down Adobe Connect.

I’ve been using a new site called Mingleverse – who take a different approach to e-meetings. You’re meeting happens in a browser-based virtual office where everyone can walk around as a 2D hologram of themselves and talk to each other in 3D (so as i move around the room my voice changes direction also) – it’s worth checking out – up to 50 people free for a month- then free meetings for 3 people – but the paid version is only $10/month.

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